Inside Bolsonaro’s escape: Argentina, Ecuador, Miami — and asylum in the U.S.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the loser in Brazil’s presidential elections Sunday, arrived in Miami on Wednesday after fleeing his home country in a secretive mission that has drawn speculation and controversy.

Read more A look at the streets of South Florida during record-breaking king tide floods

Just minutes after Bolsonaro’s loss to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a margin of 4 million votes, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes signed an order demanding that he surrender his passports.

But by Tuesday morning, the senator had managed to flee Brazil and head towards exile in the United States, with President Donald Trump agreeing to issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family.

Read more: Facing criminal probe, Bolsonaro flees Brazil, lands in Miami after election loss

Escape from Brazil

On Monday morning, after leaving the residence of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro — who remains under house arrest — the senator was intercepted on the street by federal police and notified that he could not leave the country and had to surrender his personal and diplomatic passports within 24 hours. The notification was carried out through a precautionary measure issued by Moraes.

That same afternoon, Flávio posted a video on his Instagram account denouncing that the measure was a “political intimidation attempt” following the runoff and declared: “I will hand over my passports and I will defend myself against this aberration… but no one will silence me.”

But by early morning Tuesday, Argentine news site Infobae reported that the senator had crossed Brazil’s southern land border into Argentina and planned to board a charter flight to the United States from airport in Puerto Iguazú, near the Argentina-Brazil border.

The news spread quickly and the Argentine immigration police detained the aircraft in the morning. Argentine presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier denied at a press conference that Bolsonaro was in the country: “Regarding Bolsonaro, there is no asylum request.”

On Tuesday night, Argentine media captured the moment when a gray van with Brazilian license plates entered the Puerto Iguazú airport and transported a group of people to the runway. The group boarded a private Gulfstream G400 flight registered in Argentina to the company Baires Fly S.A. According to the flight plan submitted by the company, the declared destination was Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Early Wednesday, the National Directorate of Migration of Argentina issued an official statement confirming that Bolsonaro and his family had indeed formally entered through the Puerto Iguazú border crossing Tueday night and subsequently boarded the private aircraft.

The statement said four members of the Bolsonaro family presented valid documentation and had no legal impediments to entering the country, despite the fact that Brazilian Justice had annulled their passports.

From there, Bolsonaro, his wife, Fernanda, and two daughters boarded another plane headed for the U.S. that landed Opa-locka Executive Airport.

Read more Connecticut man arrested in Florida Keys anti-child exploitation operation

Early on Wednesday morning, Trump said that he would accept Bolsonaro in his country if he requested political asylum and commented, “I think they are good people.”

The re-elected President of Brazil, Lula Da Silva, took a few minutes during the celebration of his 81st birthday to describe the escape of the Brazilian opposition leader as a “shameful act.” He also accused the Bolsonaro family of “licking the boots of the Americans.”

Finally, Flávio Bolsonaro landed at Miami Opa Locka Executive Airport at 9:20 AM (local time) this Wednesday, along with his wife, Fernanda, and their two daughters.

Argentina’s role

Santiago Tangir, director of the Argentina-Brazil Studies and Cooperation Center at the National University of Avellaneda, Bolsonaro received support from the Argentine Airport Security Police to leave the country.

In response, Argentine congresswoman Marcela Pagano filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Court of Puerto Iguazú regarding Bolsonaro’s entry and his subsequent departure on a private plane. In a post on X, the legislator stated: “If he got in, someone let him in.”

Pagano told the Miami Herald that Santiago Caputo, chief advisor to President Javier Milei, participated in coordinating the operation. Caputo’s re-posted a social media post that celebrated the Trump-Milei coordination to get Bolsonaro out of Brazil.

So far, the Argentine and U.S. governments have not officially taken responsibility for any part of the operation.

Why Bolsonaro fled

Tangir said Bolsonaro fled Brazil for several reasons.

First, his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, had publicly declared last week that he supported Flávio leaving Brazil if he lost the elections. Eduardo currently lives in exile in the United States and is wanted in Brazil for lobbying the Trump administration to help his father, Jair Bolsonaro, after his conviction for an attempted coup.

Second, Bolsonaro is being investigated for his alleged links to Willer Tomaz, a lawyer accused of laundering $1 billion who has also been in the U.S. since August.

“The courts are analyzing a business structure that includes betting platforms, financial companies, foreign companies, and fund transfers between them,” Tangir said.

And finally, Bolsonaro is just a few months away from losing his parliamentary immunity, as his Senate term ends on Jan. 31, 2027.

Read more Defeated Brazil presidential candidate, ordered to surrender passport, flees to Florida

This story was originally published October 28, 2026 at 3:30 PM.